


Fangs and Fury

by laraanita



Category: MindCrack RPF
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fusion, Body Horror, Hybrids, Other, in that it hurts like hell growing new bits like wings
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-07-25
Updated: 2015-02-06
Packaged: 2018-02-10 08:14:13
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 9,872
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2017587
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/laraanita/pseuds/laraanita
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Guude's been experiencing aches and pains all day, and its not until he passes out at home and wakes up in a bit of a bloodied mess that he realises something's gone horribly wrong. Takes place in a Minecraft type world where the guys still record and the skins act like holograms in some cases, while in others the guys just wear those clothes. Will follow through the changes and their lives after them. </p>
<p>Warnings: Blood mentioned, could maybe qualify as some kind of body horror since you're really not supposed to grow tails and shit normally.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

It started with an itch.

 

For no real reason, Guude couldn’t get rid of the itch on the top of his head, finding himself distracted by it at the most inopportune moments. It was not appropriate to stand scratching at his ears and hair while trying to hold a conversation, nor was it good practice to squirm in place while trying to record because his tailbone had decided to become the most irritating thing on the planet.

 

Heaving a sigh, he paused the recording and dropped the stack of blocks on the floor of the UHC monument, freeing up his hands enough to claw at his head, mussing up the blond locks more than he already had as he attempted to relieve himself of some of the itch. It was growing unbearable to the point where if he didn’t do something, he was going to go insane. The fact that it had spread down his body to his tailbone was a clue something wasn’t right. He gave in, scrapped the recording, and dismissed the camera for the night, collecting his blocked and dropping them into his inventory. If the itch hadn’t cleared up by recording time tomorrow, he was going to go pester Doc or Jeff, see if they didn’t have some kind of advice. He headed for his jungle home, planning to shower and then just sleep it off.

 

-0-

 

Well, the good news was it wasn’t itching anymore. The bad news was that it was fucking agony instead.

 

Guude had suffered more than his fair share of hangovers and mornings after, he knew what the worst of those could feel like. One only had to spend a night with Pause in order to get completely smashed and experience that.

 

That was nothing compared to the stabbing pains lancing across the sides of his head and down his spine. He rolled out of bed and landed on the floor with a gasp, green eyes wide and watering with the agony. He barely managed to push himself up enough to reach for the headset on the bedside table, panting as he tried to focus. As he reached, his eyes caught sight of where he’d been lying, fear paralyzing him as he saw what looked like blood staining his sheets and pillow. Headset abandoned for the moment, he reached up and touched his aching head, yelping when the brush of his fingers only sent more agony shooting through him. His knees gave out as it shot down his spine and he curled up on the wooden floor, a choked cry escaping him. He wondered if this was how he was going to die, from a fucking brain aneurysm, bleeding out his head and god knows where else? The hell did he do to deserve this?!

 

The pain in his head increased what seemed like tenfold, as if in response to his thoughts and Guude met the encroaching darkness gratefully, welcoming the escape from the pain.

 

-0-

 

He came to with a blissfully itch-free and ache-free body. The first thing he did was moan at the lack of pain and thank his immune system for fighting off whatever it was that had decided to fuck up his day. Guude dragged himself back up onto the bed and winced at the sight before him. His bed was blood stained, dark red over the pillows and bed sheets. Reaching up to his head, he wasn’t surprised to run his fingers through matted, blood encrusted hair. Unexpectedly, they brushed against something else, something somewhat fluffy. He jerked his hand back, swearing when it caught painfully on the tangled mess of hair and blood. Something atop his head _moved_.

 

Something moved behind him too.

 

Guude slowly turned his head, looking over his shoulder. Nothing there, no animals, no mobs. Something twitched at the bottom of his vision and he looked down, expecting to see some kind of wild animal.

 

“No fuckin’ way.” He breathed, eyes widening in horror. He grabbed the blood matted tail poking out the back of the tattered remains of his boxers and jerked when he felt the grip on it. The things atop his head twitched again and with growing apprehension, Guude took a lucky guess at what they were. A ginger pat with his free hand at the top of his head and his suspicions were confirmed. Ears.

 

“Jesus Christ I’m a fuckin’ furry.”

 

He scrambled to his feet and hurried to the bathroom, trying desperately to ignore the feeling of the tail moving behind him as he ran. In front of the bathroom mirror, he almost screamed. Pointed ears atop his head that flattened back as he stared in horror, the tail pressing down against his leg as though reacting to his emotions.

 

_Of course it’s fucking reacting to my emotions, it’s my fucking tail. Jesus Christ I never thought I’d think that._

 

It was hard to tell the colour of the matted fur under all that blood and Guude found himself mechanically reaching for the taps, turning the hot on and reaching for a face cloth. He dropped it in the sink to soak, unable to quite tear his eyes away from the ears atop his reflection’s head. It wasn’t until he wrung out the cloth and started wiping at them gently that he really got to see what they looked like.

 

The fur was clumped together with the water and bits of dried blood he was slowly getting to but it was easy enough to see the almost black fur around the tops of the ears, the lighter grey covering the inside less covered in blood. He shuddered as he rinsed the rapidly reddening cloth in the sink before continuing to remove the mess. A few swipes of the cloth later he groaned and tossed it in the bottom of the shower. He had the tail to do as well, why not just do it all at once? He turned it on and while it heated up, tried to carefully peel off the bloodied boxers, wincing as the crusted blood clung to his skin and the new furry thing poking out the base of his spine.

 

_Come on guy, like ripping off a band aid._

 

He yanked them down and had resist the urge to howl as he felt some of the fur on the tail get yanked away with the boxers. “Fuck-” was about all he allowed out of his mouth before he was climbing into the shower in a worse mood than before. If looks could kill, the shower tile would be a goner. He grabbed the shampoo, figuring that’d work better than soap on fur and squirted some into his hand, rapidly applying it to hair and furry ears. It felt unsurprisingly strange and maybe a little nice to have the hot water and soapy suds on the new ears. It was only when his tail slapped wetly against the shower tiles that Guude realised he’d been wagging it.

 

“Oh for cryin’ out loud.”

 

-0-

 

Out the shower and successfully de-bloodied, Guude found himself attacking one of his pairs of jeans with a knife. He’d already tried to pull on a pair over the top of his tail but that had only resulted in him hurting himself when the tail just wouldn’t fit pressed down against the back of a leg. So here he was, pantsless in his living room, missing out on recording time as he tried to cut a hole into the ass of his trousers for a goddamn tail.

 

“Fuck my life man, fuck my life.” He muttered darkly, dropping the knife to one side and trying to wriggle into the trousers again. With a bit of work tugging at the now rather fluffy grey tail through the new hole, he got the pants on. Pleased with the meagre victory over his new appendage, he grabbed the baseball cap he’d rooted out earlier and jammed it on to his the ears. It was uncomfortable but nothing he couldn’t handle. He just had to hope no one asked where his ears had gone…hell, hopefully no one noticed the damn tail sticking out his ass.

 

That done, he headed outside and hopped into the portal. Doc or Jeff would know about this. They had to. Maybe they could do something about it.

 

-0-

 

“Guude!”

 

Guude almost had a heart attack, slamming himself back against the wall behind him to pin his stupid tail between it and himself. Hopefully it hadn’t been spotted by Avidya. “Didn’t expect to see you here guy,” he said casually, glancing curiously at the other. His usually loose and open coat was tied shut and…Avidya was wearing a baseball cap too. Hm.

 

“Yeah, thought I’d pay Jeff a visit.” Avidya drawled, glancing over him just as curiously. “What’s with the hat?”

 

“Felt like a hat, what about you?” He sniffed, catching the scent of something odd. Oh god, he hadn’t gotten a dog’s sense of smell as well had he? Fantastic. That explained why the nether smelt so strongly of sulphur and burnt things. This was something else though and it was getting his hackles up, figuratively speaking.

 

“Felt like a hat too. Must just be a hat day.”

 

Guude wasn’t sure if he should buy it or not but Avidya wasn’t demanding he lose his hat so Guude was gonna offer him the same courtesy. “Right, hat day. Should be a holiday.”

 

Avidya gave a short laugh, glancing along the tunnel. “Well, guess I’ll catch you around. See you Guude.”

 

“Bye.”

 

The moment Avidya was out of sight, Guude found himself relaxing. There had been something off about Avidya and it’d made him all tense. He tried not to think what it might mean, what the hat might have been about, and started making his way back up the tunnel. If Avidya was going to see Jeff then he’d have to go and see Doc instead.

 

-0-

 

This time he wasn’t stopped on the way, hurrying through the massive hub to get to Doc’s tunnel and hurrying along the length of that. He dove through the portal, nerves mounting as he considered how he was going to explain this. He could feel his new ears lying flat against his head under the cap, tail tucked low. Damnit this was going to be hard to get used to, though if Doc could do something about it then maybe he wouldn’t have to.

 

“Doc! You got a sec?” he called, stepping out the portal and looking around.

 

“…Guude?” the German-accented voice called back warily. “What are you doing here?”

 

Guude frowned, looking around. He sounded close, where was the guy? “I could use your help with somethin’ guy, where you at?” And why was this getting his hackles up just as much if not more so than Avidya had?

 

“I’m…around. Can’t this wait?”

 

“Not really guy, it’s kind of…” Guude looked down at his tail, somewhat alarmed by the way the fur was all sticking out. “…a medical emergency.”

 

There was a frustrated sound from above him and Guude bit back the urge to let out a growl in response.

 

“Can’t you go see Jeff?” Doc tried, sounding almost desperate to Guude’s new and improved ears. It was followed by the scratch of something sharp on the wood above him. He couldn’t not look up. A dim red eye caught his attention, peeking over the edge of one of the wooden beams.

 

“Are you in the rafters, guy? What are you doin’?”

 

“…You have to promise not to laugh or freak out okay? Don’t hit me with a sword or something.”

 

Guude raised his eyebrows. Oh god, what if he was part animal too? “I ain’t even got a sword on me. Besides, pretty sure I could say the same for you, there’s a reason I’m here.”

 

Doc sighed and dragged himself over the edge of the rafter, flipping forwards to land on his feet with a grace Guude found himself envying. The German straightened up and with an air of reluctance, dismissed the cyborg-creeper skin. Across the backs of his arms, thick black lines stood out against the tanned skin, the pattern echoed across the sides of Doc’s neck and up around his eyes. Atop his head and nestled between the dark locks of hair, two round ears of black and orange fur rested. And there, lashing back and forth nervously behind Doc, was a black, white and orange tail.

 

Guude immediately found himself on edge. It might have been the way he could feel the tenseness coming off the other man in a way that made him want to bare his teeth and snarl, or it might have been the way that Doc was focusing on his tail with narrowed eyes. He swallowed and took a step back without really realising what he was doing, escape quite suddenly on his mind. Guude froze up when Doc’s eyes snapped to his. Doc’s ears went flat and he bared his sharper-than-usual teeth, hissing angrily. Guude felt his ears drop flat against his scalp, already baring his own teeth in response and growling back.

 

For all he’d wanted to get here in a hurry earlier, now he wanted nothing more than to turn tail and run. Guude took another step back, teeth still bared as Doc advanced again. If he could get to the portal, he could escape and everything would be fine.

 

Or that was his thought process until Doc broke into a run at him. Guude really did turn tail and diver back through the portal, hitting the ground with a curse and scrabbling to get back up. He didn’t know if Doc was behind him or not as he ran through the hub, not stopping until he reached the main Spawn portal and collapsed against the warm quartz there, panting hard as he sank to sit on the floor.

 

_No sign of Doc…but what the hell had that been?_ Guude didn’t have any more clues as to what exactly was going, but he knew two things he hadn’t before. One, he was not alone. Two, whatever this was, it was affecting more than just how they looked, changing how they behaved now too.

 

Guude groaned, running his hands through his hair. The cap had been lost somewhere in the run from Doc’s portal and he couldn’t bring himself to care. “Jesus Christ…how could this day get any worse?”


	2. It Spreads

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you'd like to know more about this Hybrid AU I've cooked up, feel free to check my tag for it on my tumblr, 'mindcrack hybrid au' on theropodtheroblogs, or ask me questions :D Please enjoy the fic, many thanks to Sunset for checking it over for me. Less warnings for pain and blood in this one, just mentions of pain instead.

Elsewhere in the world, someone else was wondering the exact same thing. After going to bed with a killer headache and waking up with the very same headache, Millbee was considering turning to drink just to get through the day because the painkillers he’d been dosing himself on sure as hell weren’t doing their job. Still, reluctant to become an alcoholic just yet, he went to his painkiller supply in the bathroom, reaching for the mirrored medicine cabinet only to stop cold when he spotted his reflection. His hand fell to grip the side of the sink as he leaned in to get a better look at the two grey-brown things sticking out his head near his hairline.

 

He reached up and winced when he touched the angry, torn skin around the protrusions, watching a drop of blood well up and dribble slowly down his forehead.

 

“What the fuck.”

 

-0-

 

“Jeff? You here? I need a second if you have one to spare.” Avidya called, stepping out the portal and casting a look around the hospital. “Jeff?” he tried again.

 

There was a crash from upstairs, then – “Avidya? That you?”

 

“Yeah man, you got a minute?” Avidya was already a little concerned by the crash but this was kind of important. It wasn’t every day a man woke up with a tail and ears after all.

 

“Yeah okay, but I might need you to help me out a bit too okay?”

 

“Sure man, whatever you need.” With that confirmation, he could hear Jsano hurry down the nearest flight of stairs. Taking a deep breath, he reached up and tugged off the cap he’d been using to hide the point ginger ears now perched atop his head. They swivelled around, locking onto Jeff’s approach, feeling much more at ease when they weren’t flattened under a cap.

 

The footsteps stopped somewhere behind him. “…Oh god, you too?”

 

Eyes widening behind his sunglasses, Avidya spun on the spot to get a look at his friend. Ears and a tail, much the same condition as himself. Only difference was that Jeff’s ears were big and floppy, hanging down. The tail also happened to be wagging.

 

“Damn.” Avidya murmured, peering over the top of his glasses, ears canted forwards curiously. “Are those spots?”

 

“Yeah,” Jsano gave a nervous laugh and hopped a little close, tail still wagging. “Far as I can figure out, I’m like some kind of Dalmatian. You…have cat ears. Right?”

 

Avidya nodded and gestured behind him. “Got the tail too. I had whiskers yesterday before the rest appeared, I plucked them though, though it was just a couple of weird hairs before this. Here was me hoping you might know what caused it all.”

 

“So far I’ve got nothing.” Jsano sighed, tail drooping behind him. “Come on, I was already writing down all my symptoms and stuff I came into contact with, might as well get yours in before we start calling up the others.”

 

-0-

 

Drinks with Rob had been a terrible, terrible idea and Pause had loved every minute of it until he woke up with an ache through his entire body. He whined and dragged the covers up over himself, refusing to budge for anything. The hell had they done last night? His back was absolute agony and his head felt all itchy. All of him hurt, right through to his very bones.

 

“Goddamnit Rob.” He whined.

 

“Shut up Poose, it hurts.” Came the groaned response from Rob’s bed. “This is your fault.”

 

“No way dude, your fault.”

 

“Don’t care, sore, shut up.”

 

“Sleep now.” Pause grabbed the hotel pillow, glad for the thickness of it, and pulled it down over the back of his head in the hopes that would magically make it all stop hurting. It didn’t, but the darkness it provided made it a little easier to pass out again. Or maybe that was just the pain.

 

-0-

 

Millbee stepped out of the spawn portal and into the Nether, glad that his decision to just rent an apartment above Blame’s flowershop gave him such easy access to the rest of the guys. He turned to go find the right portal room for Jsano’s only to trip over someone sitting by the portal. He went tumbling over them with a surprised yell and landed on his hands and knees, the other person groaning. He recognised that sound. “Guude?” he asked, turning back in surprise and sitting on his butt.

 

“Ow, hey Millbee.” Guude dragged himself upright again, looking rather unamused.

 

Millbee’s eyes widened as he caught sight of the furry ears twitching atop Guude’s head. “Uh…Guude? I don’t know if you know this, but you got something on your head…are they real?”

 

Guude sighed and Millbee watched the ears flatten back. “Yes they’re real, and so’s the damn tail stuck to my ass.”

 

“You’ve got a tail?” Despite the pain still thumping in his head and the two pointy things jutting out his skull, he leaned forwards, interested.

 

“Yeah there’s a damn tail, you wanna chase me down too?” Guude scowled.

 

“What? I weren’t gonna chase you. Why’d you think that?” Millbee finally decided that the floor of the Nether was not a comfortable place to sit and stood up, offering Guude a hand up. Warily, the other man took it.

 

“Let’s just say I already had Doc try and eat me. He was sporting some new bits too. I think he was like a tiger or something.”

 

“Wow…things are getting weird around here.” Millbee went to scratch at the back of his head. “I’ve got something growing out my forehead too. Don’t know what it is but I’ll bet it’s related. I was gonna go see Jsano, see if he can do anything for the headache at least.”

 

“Yeah, maybe he won’t charge roaring at us.” Guude sighed. “Come on guy.”

 

-0-

 

Not for the first time that day, Blame wished they had a dentist in their circle of friends. His upper canines had been aching since he’d woken up at dawn to continue work on his minigame as usual and as it was now just after midday, the morning dose of painkillers had worn off. He abandoned his work for the moment, heading home to remedy that. The heat of the nether did little to abate the pain but when he stepped out into the chill of his snowy home, the pain sharpened enough to make him hiss. He hurried inside, one hand massaging his jaw in the hopes that would help. It didn’t, and he reached the bathroom cursing his luck.

 

Before he could even reach for the medicine cabinet, blinding pain radiated out from the middle of his jaw bone, sending Blame to his knees with a cut off whimper. He barely noticed how he only just avoided hitting his head off the sink, more concerned by the agony and the fact that his jaw seemed to have locked shut. The radiating waves of pain only grew and if he didn’t know better he would have said that his jaw was splitting in two. He tried to reach for the sink, trying to get some support so he could get up, get help, anything at all… but as he tried to rise, nausea swept through him, vision swimming and he crumpled, head thumping off the bathroom tiles. As his world turned dark at the edges, he managed to roll himself onto his side just enough that, hopefully, he wouldn’t choke on his own tongue. Blame passed out, glad for at least the momentary reprieve from the pain if nothing else.

 

-0-

 

Jsano was testing out the reflexive moments of Avidya’s ears in fascination when the call of his name from the bottom floor caught his attention. His own floppy ears perked up, tail wagging faintly when he recognised it as Guude. Surely Guude would know what was going on, being the leader and all? He turned tail and hurried down the stairs, almost bouncing.

 

Avidya watched him go, blinking slowly at his back. He couldn’t help but wonder… That had seemed a little too happy-puppy like for the situation at hand. _Is this going to affect our minds as well? Maybe I should keep an eye on myself. If I start chasing mice…_

 

He lifted himself off the seat he’d been sat in for the ear testing and followed the path Jsano had hurried down, moving much more sedately. It only took a glance at the trio standing by the portal to confirm his earlier suspicions. Guude was sporting a tail and ears and Millbee was rubbing at something sticking out his forehead as he watched Guude and Jsano circle each other. Avidya stayed back warily, his own tail twitching. Guude stopped and stood taller, ears pricked and tail jutting out behind him. Jsano responded immediately, tail lowered but still wagging, tilting his head slightly to one side. It seemed enough for Guude, the shorter man relaxing a little, before frowning at himself.

 

“The hell was that?” he asked, looking more than a little concerned. “What is going on? Jeff tell me you know something ‘cause I feel like I’m losing my goddamn mind.”

 

“Well, aside from the obvious, I think whatever caused this is affecting our minds a little too.” Avidya stepped out into the room, hoping he wasn’t about to be jumped by whatever kind of canine Guude was. Millbee at least looked safe. Guude didn’t even twitch, though his eyes did widen at the sight of the ginger cat ears atop Avidya’s head. “I mean, I just want to curl up and sleep. You two looked like you were doing some kind of dominance thing. And Millbee…”

 

Millbee shrugged. “I just wanna know what’s going on, and why my head’s all pointy.”

 

“Don’t we all.” JSano agreed, turning and leading them upstairs. “Alright. Come on, I was doing some tests on Avidya. Looks like you two are next. Avidya, you wanna see if you can get a hold of the others? I don’t know how far this thing spread, and we might need to quarantine people.”

 

“Well, I know it hit Doc. He was ready to bit my head off man, I swear to god.” Guude shook his head, ears lowering at the thought. “He had all these markings on him. I think he mighta been some kind of tiger.”

 

“Huh.” Avidya paused on the steps, frowning. “I think that explains it then. Tigers and wolves are competitors for space and prey, and tigers have been known to kill wolves, so-”

 

“Wait, wolves? Is that what I am?” Guude reached up and tugged on a thickly furred ear. “…At least it’s not a Chihuahua.”

 

JSano shook his head, smiling this time. “Makes sense, pack leader. Come on, let’s run some tests. Avidya, start up the calls. MC first, he knows how to help out here in case we need it.”

 

Avidya nodded and headed for the desk in the corner, taking out his coms device. He’d avoided using it with the new ears but there wasn’t really a choice now. He sighed and dialled up MC, hoping the kid was alright.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This chapter contains a lot of unconscious people. Woo!

It became clear all too soon that whatever was happening, it was affecting most if not all of them. Avidya had called everyone and those who’d answered nervously had reported some kind of new addition or the beginnings of some kind of itch or pain or growth. Jsano wrote everything down, from the initial examinations with those already there to the reports coming in across the coms.

 

There was however the issue of several of their friends not responding. Guude normally would have shrugged and left them to it had they been missing out on something like a town meeting. This, however, was a little more urgent than a meeting. They needed to get ahold of the missing as soon as possible.

 

“Who’s unaccounted for?” he asked Avidya, who was glancing over the crossed out list of names in front of him.

 

“A lot.” Avidya sighed. “We got no answer from Bdubs, Pause, Rob, Pyro, Seth, Nebris, Ads, Vechs, Kurt, Aurey or Zisteau. Blame’s com didn’t even ring, I think he must have forgotten to turn it on or something.”

 

“Shit.” Guude groaned and rubbed at his face, trying to think. “We gotta get to them, see that they’re, y’know, okay.” ‘Okay’ was really the best they could hope for in the situation, ‘alive’ at a stretch.

 

“The ones I got ahold of will be coming here, Jeff should be fine with leaving them if we wanna head out.” Avidya wished he could help calm down Guude a bit, he could see the worry for their friends making him tense and it was putting him on edge just a little. Going out to do something to help might be enough to take some of the worry away. “You, me and Millbee. Faster with three searching I’d say.”

 

The wolf hybrid nodded, agreeing silently. “Get Jeff to ready some kits to take with us just in case, something small. Healing potions, painkillers, bandages maybe. We don’t know what we’re gonna find.”

 

“You got it.”

 

-0-

 

They started in the town centre, the three of them spreading out and going from building to building, checking each corner, down each ladder and secret passage, even checking the redstone tunnels under the roads to make sure no one had been doing maintenance when they’d collapsed or anything like that.

 

It was Millbee who found them first, pushing open one of the doors inside Blame’s flower shop apartments. Rob and Pause were both passed out in their bed and at first glance he couldn’t see any blood. It didn’t stop him hurrying to Pause’s side to give him a quick look over however. The native had managed to throw all the blankets and pillows to the floor, curling up in a ball near the bottom of the mattress. Millbee couldn’t see anything wrong with him immediately but when he went to touch Pause’s shoulder, he had to recoil at the heat coming off his friend. He went for the coms device hooked over his ear immediately. “I found Pause and Rob, Pause is burnin’ up though. Not checked Rob but just lookin’ at him, he’s probably the same.”

 

Guude’s curse came through the earpiece first, as crisp and clear as though he was there to swear at the situation personally instead of halfway across the town. “Fuck. Alright, check Rob, then call Jeff. Stay with them, I’m gonna keep looking. Avidya?”

 

“No one so far, your Monument is clear. Just about to hit Seth’s compound though.”

 

“Call in if you find anyone. If not, check the casino next. I’m about to hit the bakery and – shit!”

 

Millbee froze in the process of pulling out a thermometer from the kit Jsano had handed him. “Guude?”

 

“Found Bdubs, looks like he collapsed by the ovens – and he’s burning up too.” There was a grunting sound followed by a low groan of pain before Guude spoke again. “Easy John, I got ya. Millbee, I’m bringing him over, can’t leave him here.”

 

“Yeah yeah, alright. You want me to push another bed in here or something?” Millbee popped the thermometer into Rob’s mouth and backed away, heading for the door.

 

“Yeah you do that. It’ll do until we can move them to the hospital-”

 

“Found Seth,” came Avidya’s clipped tones. “He’s hot to touch, bringing him back. Better make that two beds Millbs.”

 

Millbee didn’t have the heart to complain, too worried about his friends to even make a joke about the situation.

 

-0-

 

Jsano had arrived by the time Avidya got back with Seth, laying him out on a bed for the nurse to see to. It seemed Guude had already dropped off Bdubs in the other bed beside Pause and had headed out again because he didn’t seem to be hanging around. Neither was Millbee.

 

“You leave someone in charge back at the hospital?” Avidya asked, ginger ears flat with concern over the whole thing.

 

“MC’s there, he’s got a slight headache but no other symptoms. I gave him some painkillers and he’s just taking notes from the others. Before I left he was seeing to Aureylian, we managed to get ahold of her. She was underground for a while mining. She’s got some kind of lump on either side of her throat and she was feeling cold and clammy.” Jeff frowned. “Opposite of these four it seems. Can you run me a basin of cold water and get me some towels? I wanna try and get their temperatures down.”

 

Avidya’s tail twitched at the mention of water but he nodded and went away to the bathroom to find what Jsano needed.

 

-0-

 

Guude found Zisteau next, laying on the floor in the underground map storage room, one arm dangling in the flow of water which protected the map copies he’d spent so long on. It was hard to tell how long he’d been there, but it was long enough that his floating camera had shut down and dropped to the floor beside him. Guude had to reach for the skin control button hooked onto Zisteau’s belt and flick it off, dismissing the pigman hologram so he could get a better look at how his friend was doing. Zisteau’s back was looking a bit oddly shaped through his shirt, so taking a chance, Guude carefully lifted the material. What he saw made his ears flatten against his skull, eyes widening.

 

All the way down Zisteau’s back, small white spines protruded from skin that was speckled with bruises and spots of blood around the base of these spines. The spines themselves seemed to be covered in somewhat fuzzy looking stuff but Guude was reluctant to touch them. He released the shirt and sat back on his heels, exhaling slowly. He wasn’t sure how he was going to get Z out of here but he doubted he’d be able to do it by himself. He tapped the coms unit tied awkwardly to his head with elastic bands (goddamn he hated these new ears) and spoke up. “Found Zisteau…need some help with this though.”

 

“What happened? He alright?” Avidya chimed in.

 

“He’s down under the map room, can’t get him up that ladder myself and I don’t know how long he’s been down here. Guy’s got stuff sticking out his back too, I don’t even know what that is.”

 

“Guude, I need you to check if they’re solid or if they’re soft.” Jsano’s voice cut in then. “I need to know if those are bone or something else like cartilage.”

 

Guude cringed and had to bite back the urge to whine softly but he reached out, lifting the shirt with one hand and hesitantly touched one of the slightly bloodied spines. “S-soft, they’re soft.” He exhaled in relief and dropped the shirt again. “Thank god.” The last thing he wanted was to touch bone.

 

“That’s good, he’s probably not going to be a hedgehog or something all that spikey then. Bad news is I haven’t a clue what he is right now.” Jsano mentally stuck Zisteau in the group with the others who were unidentified as to what they were yet. “Avidya, get down there and help him get Z out. If he wakes up, try and keep him calm and lucid until you get him back to the apartment block. This place is gonna have to be our temporary hospital until we can get them all back safely.”

 

“Who’s still missing?” Guude asked, getting his arms around Zisteau’s chest and beginning to drag him over to the ladder.

 

“We’ve heard from everyone except Pyro, Blame, Nebris, Ads, Vechs and Kurt.” Jsano replied.

 

Above Guude, the ladder creaked as Avidya started to clamber down it. “Spawn town is cleared out, looks like we need to start checking private bases now.” He hopped down the last few rungs and knelt beside Zisteau and Guude, visually checking the pair of them over. Zisteau showed no signs of waking despite begin dragged halfway across the stone floor and Guude was looking stressed, his new fuzzy ears flat against his skull. He had to fight the urge to bump foreheads with his friend to soothe him a bit. _Cats are weird man_. “Come on, let’s get him out of here.”

 

-0-

 

Once Zisteau was safely lain in a bed, they headed into the Nether, deciding to work together on this one. If they needed to carry someone back, it was easier by far with two people. Millbee jogged up as they were hitting the portal, clearly intending to join them. Guude had no arguments there. He did feel like starting up an argument however when for the second time that day he was crashed into by someone running in the nether.

 

“I’m sorry I’m sorry I wasn’t – Guude?”

 

Guude scowled up at the ceiling from the solid stone floor, debating on the merits of just lying there until everything went away. Unfortunately he wasn’t really allowed to do that, not with three concerned faces peering down at him. He sighed and grabbed the nearest offered hand to get to his feet. “Jesus Aurey, you’re supposed to be at the hospital with everyone else.”

 

Aureylian shifted on the spot, one hand reaching up to scratch an already red and irritated looking neck. “I got worried when MC told me people hadn’t responded. I was going to go help find them.”

 

“And what if you’d collapsed somewhere? Does MC even know you’re gone?” Guude felt like a parent scolding a child and the feeling wasn’t helped by the way Aureylian cringed and looked down at the floor.

 

“No…But I’m fine, honest, I just have an itchy neck, I’m not – not sprouting ears like you and MC and Avidya and – Millbee what’s coming out your head?”

 

“Uh, Jsano thinks its horns.” Millbee shrugged lazily. He was almost beyond caring it seemed, returning to his more relaxed state now that he knew he wasn’t dying and was actively involved in doing something useful.

 

“Horns. Okay.” Aureylian clawed at her neck a little more, trying to smile but unable to get through the worry she was feeling for her missing friends. “Look, I came to help and I’m going to.”

 

“I didn’t say you couldn’t.” Guude bit back a sigh. “I just wish you’d told MC first. People are passing out all over the place, what if we lost you somewhere? No one’s died yet but I don’t want to risk losing any of my friends to this shit.”

 

“How about we keep moving on and I’ll call MC as we go?” Millbee butted in before they could start a fight. Everyone was stressed and sore and this delaying wasn’t really helping anyone.

 

“Right. You do that. Come on, let’s hit Vechs’ place first, it’s closest.” Guude took point, leading the group of would be rescuers onwards.

 

-0-

 

Etho gave up trying to get an answer from Nebris after the sixth call. He’d already checked in with MC over the coms and while his head and lower back were aching a little, he didn’t pay it much heed. There was other more important things at stake, like the fact Nebris and several others hadn’t checked in at all.

 

Whatever was going around, it was doing things to them, changing them in incredibly painful ways. He’d been told to stay put or come into the hospital to wait for a check-up but Etho had something else in mind when he stepped into his portal. Mere minutes later and he was half regretting his decision to do this, the ache in his body growing worse by the minute. He gritted his teeth and pushed on, almost tripping through the portal to Nebris’ place. His control slipped when he reached the other side, wincing at the bright sunlight and only just holding back a curse at the pain it shot into his head. _Nebris just couldn’t even put a roof on this thing could he?_

 

He skipped walking down the path and just vaulted over the unfinished wall, growling when the landing sent more jolts of pain through his body. _Maybe MC was right, maybe I should have stayed…no, Nebris is missing, he might need help._ For all they were intense rivals in everything they did, they were fire forged friends first and foremost and Etho couldn’t imagine just leaving Nebris to his fate, whatever it might be.

 

“Nebris!” He called out as he approached the half built mansion home, past the iron based beacon and up the stairs inside. “Nebris! Where you at? Come on guy!” He reached the top of the stairs and had to pause to breathe through the pain for a moment. It was coming in waves it seemed, leaving stars behind his eyelids when it finally faded. He had to move quickly, pushing away from the support column and hurrying to the nearest room to check in on it. Empty. He didn’t spare time admiring the décor, instead rushing from room to room until the pain made him cling to a wall and groan lowly again. Again it faded but not entirely, the ache staying with him and growing the longer he stayed upright. He cursed his decision to make this trip and forced himself to the final room.

 

Nebris lay on the floor before him, looking as though he’d fallen down the scaffolding in the corner. One leg was propped up on the scaffolding while the rest of his body lay curled on the floor. His face was creased in pain, skin damp with perspiration and his coms unit halfway across the floor, looking as though it had flown from his outstretched hand when he’d fallen.

 

Etho dragged himself over to his unconscious friend, dropping to his knees and hissing at the jolt it sent up his spine. “The things I do for you Nebris,” he muttered, breathing harshly as he felt the next wave of pain grow. “Nngh…Nebris wake up, plea – aah –” he clung to his friend’s shoulder, shaking it weakly. It did little to help wake Nebris. A whimper escaped the ninja as what felt like fire raced through his nerves, leaving him curled over Nebris and shaking, vision growing black at the edge. Voice rough and desperate, he pleaded with his friend again. “Nebs, come on-” He bit back a choked cry, feeling himself fall sideways onto the floor as the pain became too much. The last thing he saw before his vision faded entirely was Nebris’ equally pained expression.


	4. Chapter 4

-0-

 

It was Vechs they sought out first, stepping out the massive Nether portal into the impressive underground lair. Aurey went with Millbee, and Guude with Avidya, heading their separate ways at the intersection. Millbee took one look at the design and felt oddly nostalgic before Aurey marched him down the tunnel to the main base, leaving Guude and Avidya to check out the farming section.

 

They picked their way down the steps, avoiding the vines hanging down from above. The room was warm and humid, the scent of fresh plants almost overwhelming them with their new heightened sense of smell. They managed well enough, avoiding the ploughed soil and rows of crops. Vechs really had done a nice job in here, Guude thought, it was quite relaxing. They made their way down to the flower garden at the bottom and it was there among the heavy scent of roses that Guude’s sensitive nose picked up something.

 

“You smell that?” he asked, looking warily at Avidya.

 

“Yep.” Avidya frowned at the large grove of rose bushes. “Blood.” They stepped down into the bushes and began to push their way through, wincing as the thorns scraped at their skin and clothing, tugging at their tails. Guude suddenly hated the pretty patch of flowers with a venom he usually reserved for insects.

 

They found him soon enough, curled up in a tight ball beside a small hole, a tray of rose bulbs and a small hand trowel. For such an impressively tall man, he looked absolutely tiny when curled up unconscious and in agony. Guude dropped to his knees on one side of him while Avidya did the same, the feline speaking into his coms device to call the others to them. Guude took the opportunity to examine the younger man. There was blood dried into the back of his red shirt, black and crispy by now, and two odd looking bulges underneath the darkest spots. He grimaced, only imagining what it was, and readied himself to look. By the time he psyched himself up to lift the shirt, Avidya had taken out the med kit and started poking and prodding the unconscious man, and they’d been joined by Aurey and Millbee. Guude nodded at them, and then lifted the back of Vechs shirt. Then lowered it again hurriedly.

 

“Fuck.” He said weakly.

 

Aurey stared at him, looking distinctly green. She’d seen it too. “Was that-?”

 

“He’s growin’ fucking wings.”

 

-0-

 

Guude sent Avidya and Millbee back to the main hospital with Vechs on a makeshift stretcher, bound to it lying on his front. Aurey had found a blanket to drape over him, tucking it in around her friend before they departed.

 

“Wings.” Guude said weakly. “He had… lil’… lil’ bat wings growing outta his back.”

 

“… Well I guess we know what he’s gonna be.” Aurey scratched at her neck, sighing. She looked less green now at least, though still pallid and sickly. “Come on, he’ll be okay, we’ve still got friends who need our help Guude. Vechs’ll be fine.”

 

Guude couldn’t help but think she sounded like she was trying to convince herself of that. She was right though, they had a duty to see the rest of their friends safe and sound. “Next on the list was Blame. Come on.”

 

-0-

 

Guude stepped out the portal and immediately started shivering. Of course Blame had to pitch his tent down in the middle of a snow covered hell. Conversely, Aurey seemed more at home in the snow and chill than in the dry heat of the nether…though not by much. They went inside first, deciding it was more likely they’d find their missing friend where it was warm instead of in the snow. Especially if he’d been hurting beforehand. Guude hoped they’d find Blame tucked up in bed safe and sound but somehow he highly doubted their luck was that good.

 

He was right, of course. They searched the small building Blame had set up as a temporary home while he constructed Winterfell, moving through the small rooms until the came to the locked bathroom door. Guude hammered at it, fist thumping at the thin wood. “Blame! Blame you in there? Come on guy, get up! Open the door!”

 

Silence met his words and Aurey grimaced at the thought of Blame unconscious on the bathroom floor. “We need to break down the door. I’m sure he’ll forgive us for it later, this is kinda important. Could you?” She motioned to the door. “All my strength is in my legs. No upper body bulk.”

 

“Sure,” Guude took a few steps back and eyed the door before he made his charge. His shoulder crashed into the door and he bit back a growl of pain as it gave way, slamming against the wall behind it. He skidded to a stop a pace or two before the body lying on the floor, narrowly avoiding stepping on his unconscious friend. “Shit!” He immediately called it in, telling the hospital to prepare for them arriving soon.

 

Aurey followed him in and broke out the med kit they’d been handed, kneeling by Blame side and checking him over. There was no blood that they could see, but they were both concerned by the odd flaky skin patches on his face and arms. When Aurey opened his eyes to test them with the pen light from their kit, she recoiled in shock. “Oh! Oh my – Guude, look at his eyes, they’re-!”

 

Guude frowned and leaned over him to get a look as Aurey held the eye open. “Holy shit, those’re – it’s like a lizard or a – a-”

 

“A snake.” Aurey finished, staring down at Blame. She let the eye fall closed and reached hesitantly for Blame’s lips.

 

“Aurey what’re you-?” Guude started to ask.

 

“Just gimme a sec okay?” She gently lifted up the corner of Blame’s lip, biting her own when she saw the beginnings of fangs growing there. “Yeah. Snake.”

 

“We’re gonna end up with a freaking menagerie by the time this is over.” Guude sighed. “Let’s just hope no one tries to eat anyone else.” They set about cobbling together another stretcher from the things Blame had lying around, carefully lifting him onto the thing and carting him back through the portal. They got him there safely, tucked him in a bed near Vechs and left him to MC’s tender mercies.

 

On the way out of the hospital, they bumped into Millbee who was on his way in. Literally bumped into him.

 

“Damnit Millbee, that’s the second time today,” Guude grouched, frowning up at his taller friend who was still standing much to Guude’s dismay. He got to his feet with a sigh and dusted himself off, tail shaking itself out behind him. “I thought you were with Avidya?”

 

“I was, but then we bumped into Pyro.” Millbee gestured behind him. Pyro stood there, hands in his pockets…and a great big bushy red tail curled up behind his back. Guude stared at it and had to fight the instinct that cried out for him to chase the poor fellow.

 

“Hey guys.” Pyro said, sounding nonchalant but looking a little stressed. He had pointed furry ears peeking out the black hair atop his head as well. He didn’t seem to notice Aurey staring at him like he was possibly the most adorable creature in the world. “I woke up with a tail and the urge t’climb some trees. So I did. You wanna explain what’s going on or am I just gonna be confused for the time being?”

 

“Confused, like the rest of us.” Guude sighed, rubbing at his forehead. “Right now we’re just trying to find everyone, ‘cause we can’t get through to everyone. You go in, get checked over. We’re gonna continue rounding up the pack – group. Fuck.” Even his vocabulary was changing because of this thing. Urgh.

 

Pyro shot a grin at him, tail twitching behind him. Aurey might have cooed in delight. Pyro grinned at her before looking back to Guude. “What are you, a dog or something?”

 

“A wolf, apparently.” Guude said dryly. “Like you can say much, squirrel.”

 

Pyro shrugged. “Yeah well, what you gonna do about it? Don’t eat me, yeah?”

 

“I’ll try.” Guude rolled his eyes and clapped his younger friend on the shoulder. “Go get checked over, last thing we need is you dropping down somewhere cause you got hurt growing that tail.”

 

“On it, papa wolf.”

 

“Pyro I swear, I will punch you.”

 

“You can’t punch him! He’s too adorable!”

 

“Aurey please.”

 

“Well he is!”

 

-0-

 

Another portal hop, and Guude was beginning to wish they’d taken a break back at the hospital before doing this next retrieval mission. There was only so much dimension hopping his guts could take in one day. Nebris’ partially built mansion loomed before them and Guude was already imagining the number of half complete rooms they’d have to search through to find Nebris. He sighed and looked to Aurey and Millbee. “We’d be as well splitting up for this one. Call on the coms if you spot him. Aurey you take the grounds around the castle, Millbee and I’ll start in the castle itself. If you can’t find him, come join us.”

 

“Got it Guude. Good luck.” She hurried off, heading to the cow pen first to make sure Nebris hadn’t fallen in there when he’d passed out.

 

Guude led Millbee inside and they parted ways in the main hallway, Guude staking out the ground floor while Millbee immediately went upstairs. Guude took his time, calling out for Nebris every so often as he picked his way past building materials and scaffolding scattered everywhere. Occasionally he even rapped on the walls to check for hidden rooms just in case Nebris was hiding in there for some reason. Nebris did like his secrets after all.

 

He was just finishing his sweep of the ground floor when Millbee came through on the coms. “ _Aurey, Guude, found ‘em. Etho’s here too, passed out just like Nebs. Thought he was okay?”_

 

Guude swore softly and tapped the side of his com to reply. “He should be back at his own base, I guess he didn’t listen. Coords Millbee? …I’ll be there in a sec.” He hurried off to where Millbee was waiting, kneeling before the unconscious forms of their friends. He took one look at Nebris’ leg and winced at the twisted limb. “Looks like he broke that.”

 

“Yeah, falling from up there most like, got it caught in the scaffold in the way down.” Millbee scratched the back of his head thoughtfully. “Don’t really wanna move him with it, might kill him accidently if there’s shards of bone and it cuts open his veins or something.”

 

“…God Millbee that’s dark.” Guude stared at him. “Please don’t make me picture that.”

 

“Sorry. Anyway, there’s only enough of us to carry one at a time, so I figure we take Etho back to the hospital, leave someone here with Nebris and then bring back someone who can bind his leg and he can be moved safely, yeah?”

 

“Great idea Millbee!” Aurey said, appearing just at Guude’s shoulder. “Guude, you should be the one to wait.”

 

“What, why me?” Guude frowned.

 

“Well, Nebris looks up to you. He was your friend from the start, so if you’re there and he wakes up, then he might panic less about the whole thing.” Aurey theorised, shooting Guude a smile when he seemed to accept her logic. “Great, now we just gotta make another stretcher. Why didn’t we just bring the last one?”

 

“You know, that’s too smart an idea for us. Gotta make it difficult on ourselves.” Millbee gently rolled Etho off the top of Nebris, laying him down onto his back. “Etho’s burning up but there’s no sign of any animal bits yet, guess he’s still got a while to grow them. Nebris’ the same from the looks of it.”

 

“You look after them Millbee while Aurey and I make the stretcher. Sit tight.” Guude went to the scaffolding and commandeered a few metal poles while Aurey snagged a dirty white curtain to use. In no time at all they had their third functioning stretcher of the day and were carrying out Etho to the portal, leaving Nebris and Guude behind for the time being. Guude spent the time poking his new tail and talking to an unconscious Nebris. It was kind of weird to have one sided conversations like this with an unconscious person, very different to holding a one sided conversation with a camera and an invisible audience. Honestly, there was a difference, he could feel it.

 

He was very glad when Jsano and Aurey returned, Jsano carting a large med kit with him while Aurey had the makeshift stretcher tucked under one arm. “Hey guys, glad you made it. Was starting to run out of knock knock jokes.”

 

Aurey gave him a smile and set down the stretcher beside Nebris. Jsano got to work immediately, cutting open Nebris’ trouser leg for ease of access and using a splint to lock the broken bone in place for the time being. That he wrapped in bandages to stop it from being bashed around and with a great deal of care and delicacy, the trio managed to ease Nebris onto the stretcher. After that it was simply a case of getting him to the main hospital safely.

 

Speaking of… “Hey, what happened to staying with the other guys back at spawn?” Guude asked as they travelled through the nether tunnels.

 

“I got Avidya to help me move them, I need the equipment there to keep an eye on them. Met Ads on the way, he helped out.” Jsano explained, frowning a little as he thought of the unconscious people waiting for him. “They were fine, still in various states of unconsciousness and transformation. I think I’m beginning to pick up a pattern.”

 

“Yeah? You wanna explain now or wait till we’re back with Nebs?”

 

“I’ll wait. It’s just a theory about how it advances for now, but it’s all I’ve got.”

 

“Hey man, it’s better than what I’ve got.” Guude snorted.

 

“What’ve you got?” Aurey asked, glancing over her shoulder at the stretcher bearers, once again scratching at her neck and leaving red lines behind.

 

“Fuck all.”

 

“Well yeah, anything’s better than that.” Jsano laughed. “Aurey quit scratching,” he added chidingly.

 

“But it itches!” she protested, dropping her hand and wincing when she spotted blood on her nails. “Oh… dang it.”

 

“See? I warned you!”

 

-0-

 

They reached the hospital with Nebris still in one piece, gently setting down the stretcher on a bed and easing Nebris off onto the one beside it. Jsano immediately wheeled him away for a scan for the leg, set on taking care of that first before dealing with any of this “hybrid nonsense” as he called it. Aurey he sent off to go see to the scratches on her neck, which left the third rescuer with little else to do. Guude looked around the hospital, realising that the section they were in was full of just the unconscious ones. The awake ones must be kicking about somewhere, so naturally he went looking for them. He spotted Coe first, sitting on a bed and looking rather bored. “Hey man, what you in for?”

 

Coe looked up and his eyes widened when he spotted Guude. “Wow, there’s something I didn’t expect to see. This is turning out to be one hell of a day.”

 

“You’re telling me.” Guude scratched at one of his new ears and sighed. “You don’t look much different.”

 

“Na, just got a splitting headache. Jeff thinks I’m gonna pass out soon enough, so he told me to stay on the bed for now even if I am on the good stuff.” Coe shrugged.

 

“Sound like a plan. You see everyone come and go?” Guude glanced around, noticing several others sitting on beds, one or two of them together and talking, or curled up and apparently asleep. Not everyone was here, but he was fairly sure those folks were the ones who were helping or something.

 

“Yeah, seen pretty much everyone except Kurt I think.” Coe frowned. “You seen him?”

 

“Uh…no. Shit. Avidya never said if he answered his com or not, I just assumed…” Guude growled softly and reached for his com, calling up Avidya. “’Vidya, you heard from Kurt?”

 

“ _Uh…no. Been trying for a while now. Guude…it keeps saying out of range. It only does that when he goes on one of his wanders. He could be anywhere…”_

 

Guude swore again. If Kurt was out of range of the coms then he was long gone and none of them were in any shape to set out on a long trek to find him, especially not on their own. “Goddamnit Kurt, and damn your wanderlust.”

 

“ _Sorry Guude, I was trying to find him on the coms before I had to tell you…”_

 

“Don’t worry about it man. Just keep an eye on the people here.” He sighed and closed the channel, rubbing at his face and cursing out Kurt again. He just hoped he wasn’t lying in a ditch somewhere. Maybe if he was lucky he’d avoided this whole thing simply by not being here for it to happen to him.

 

Whatever the case, he just hoped Kurt would be back soon. Somehow he didn’t think Zisteau was going to take too kindly to them not putting out a search for Kurt. Hopefully Kurt got back before Zisteau throttled Guude, because Guude really didn’t want to die with wolf ears still attached to his body. That was just embarrassing.

 

“What do we do now then, fearless leader?” Coe asked, trying to tease his friend in an attempt to lighten the mood. It didn’t work.

 

“We do what we always do Coe. Survive, and adapt.” Guude said grimly. “We’re Mindcrack, survival is what we do. Even if we have to do it with animal bits this time.”


End file.
